The Pharaoh's Kiss (Reincarnation Romance Chronicles Book 3)

by Dana Michelle Burnett

  The hospital...I’m at the hospital...

  I looked around and saw both David and Alex staring at me strangely. Blushing, I sat up, careful not to make eye contact with either of them.

  “Well,” David said. “You told us who you were, but nothing about who you are.”

  Alex came over and took my arm, helping me stand, “Are you okay?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Come on,” David said. “I’ll show you all out and you can... Go take a cold shower.”

  I could feel myself blushing again. I reached for Alex’s hand.

  “Was it really that bad?” I whispered.

  He smiled, “It was pretty hot.”

  “Great...” I mumbled as I followed him out of the morgue.

  David walked us down to the elevators and pressed the button, “I’m sorry the results weren’t better.”

  Alex shrugged, “You tried. I’ve got another friend trying to track something down with her fingerprints, but he hasn’t called with any news. It looks like we’ve reached a dead end.”

  “I wish you all the best,” David said as the elevator doors to the right opened. “Alex, stay in touch.”

  We stepped into the elevator just as the doors to the left opened. A handsome young man stepped out and walked up to David.

  “I’m sorry, I’m looking for the morgue?” He said and glanced our way, just as the elevator doors closed he looked back again.

  The sun was blindingly bright as we stepped outside the hospital and walked across the parking lot to the car. I was silent for most of the ride back to the hotel, trying to hold on to whatever it was I saw.

  Was that real? Was I somehow Ankhesenamun? What about Alex? Was he Tutankhamun?

  “Are you hungry?” Alex asked as we pulled up to the hotel. “We could have an early dinner if you like?”

  “Yeah,” I mumbled as I got out of the car. “That’s fine.”

  Alex took me by the hand and lead me once more through the lobby and over to the restaurant. Once again we sat at a small table lit by a single lamp, but this time Alex reached across the table to cover my hand with his.

  “Are you really okay?” He asked.

  “I think so,” I said, pulling my hand back as the waiter brought glasses and a bottle of wine to the table.

  Pouring me a glass of wine, Alex sighed. “ I’m sorry that didn’t work out better for you today.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Well,” he said as he handed me the glass and poured his own. “We’re no closer to knowing who you are.”

  “But your friend seems to believe in who I was.”

  “Do you believe it?” Alex asked.

  I shrugged, “I know it sounds crazy, but what choice do I have? It’s the only thing that I seemed to have any clue about.”

  “That’s true,” he said with a teasing smile. “Does that mean I have to start calling you Ankhesenamun?”

  “Only if I have to call you Tutankhamun,” I said without thinking.

  His face darkened, “Do you really think that?”

  I stood and went over to him. I took his face in both of my hands. He looked up at me with deep chestnut eyes and I could see the kohl rimmed eyes of my visions looking back at me from the depths. I lowered my lips to his and brushed his lips with a feathery kiss.

  His hands came up my waist, the fingers slipping just under the hem of my cami. I pulled away and smiled down at him.

  “You kiss me the same way he kissed her,” I whispered.

  “Do you want to get out of here?” Alex asked. “We can have food brought up to the room later.”

  To answer, I took his hands in mine and pulled him to his feet. He kissed me again, passionately, despite the other diners muttering about bad manners. I pressed myself against him, feeling the tension of desire in his body.

  I barely remembered walking back to Alex’s room, but suddenly we were there, he was closing the door and pressing me up against it. He pinned my hands above my head with one hand as the other cupped my breast.

  “Senna...” He moaned as he brought his lips to my neck.

  I wrapped one leg about his waist and pulled him closer to me, feeling his hardness straining against his jeans.

  Alex slid his hand up my chest and throat so that he could tilt my face up to his, kissing me and teasing my mouth with his tongue. I kissed him back eagerly, wanting to taste him.

  He pulled me away from the door and across the room to the balcony. He reached around and placed my hands on the balcony rail. I looked out over the Nile to the Valley of the Kings in the distance.

  “It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” Alex mumbled into my hair.

  “Yes,” I said in a gentle purr as he pushed my hair aside and kissed the tender skin where my shoulder and neck met.

  I felt his steamy breath on my shoulder. I closed my eyes and inhaled the scent of him. I could feel his body heat radiating across my back and shoulders. Suddenly, every nerve in my body awakened as if anticipating his touch.

  There was the rustling sound of him removing his clothes and then he was pulling me back against his bare chest. I trembled as he slid the straps of my cami off my shoulders and down my arms, then he unfastened my shorts and let them fall to my feet. I felt the breeze of the early night against my skin. I gasped as he reached his hand around to caress my breast while the other moved lower between my legs.

  Yes...Yes...

  I didn’t think of the people in the other rooms or worry that someone might look up and see us there naked as his fingers probed my opening, his thumb rubbing against my pubis. His every movement brought all my nerve endings to life. My legs were going weak, parting on their own until it was only him that was holding me up.

  Just as I was about to climax, he pulled away. I fell against the rail, looking down at the Nile below. Alex guided my trembling legs apart. I anticipated his fingers again, tilting my hips toward him.

  I felt him at my entrance, he reached around and placed my hands on the rail and held them there, covering my hands with his. He eased himself up inside of me, slowly, deliciously.

  He moved slowly, in and out of me, each movement sending a wave of pleasure through my body. I exploded only to come back again and again.

  “Senna,” he mumbled into my hair as his body shook, “I love you.”

  I looked out across the Nile to the glowing lights of the Valley of the Kings. As I stood there, with his naked body still pressed against mine, I knew I loved him too...Just like before.

  Chapter Eleven

  I felt myself falling, spinning down into the darkness. There was nothing above me and nothing below. I was floating in a fog until the world turned, and then I was rising up towards a distant light.

  The heat of the torches was hot against the side of my face as I found myself standing in the dim hallway. I could feel the silken fabric against my legs and the cool touch of the gold bracelets at my wrists.

  There was something wrong... Very wrong. I felt it as an unsettling panic inside as I looked up at the painting of Tutankhamun on the wall and the feeling grew.

  There was a prayer in my mind, repeating over and over. It was simple, powerful, and instantly sent a chill through me.

  Don’t let him die... Don’t let him die...

  That was it. Tutankhamun was sick, very sick, maybe dying. Even in my dream, I could feel myself crying. That other me couldn’t imagine a life without him.

  He can’t die... He can’t...

  In the memory of that other me, I saw him laying feverish in the bed. Servants tended to him as he struggled for each ragged breath. I looked back up at the painting and returned to my prayer.

  I heard footsteps in the hall coming closer. My breath caught. Was he dead? Had my husband, my love, crossed to the beyond?

  “My Queen?” The maidservant said softly.

  I didn’t answer. I didn’t want to hear what she had to say... Not yet.

  “Your highness?”

  I close
d my eyes. I did not want to know. If she didn’t say it, I could believe for just a little while longer that nothing had changed. I could still believe that Tutankhamun would recover.

  “My Queen?”

  I took a deep breath and sighed, trying to brace myself. “Yes, what is it?”

  “It is the Pharaoh.”

  “He is dead?” The words cut my throat as I spoke them.

  “No, my Queen,” she said quickly. “He is awake and asking for you.”

  My breath caught in my chest and for the briefest moment, I felt faint. He wasn’t dead. I barely mumbled a prayer of thanks to the gods before I was running to the Pharaoh’s chamber. I pushed past the guards that moved too slowly, entering his room and closing the door behind myself.

  He lay in his bed, a massive golden structure featuring a lion on each side. I walked slowly toward him, this man surrounded by riches, but knowing he would trade it all to be strong for his people once more.

  I looked down at the shrunken figure in the bed and barely recognized him as my husband. Tutankhamun was a strong, sensuous man, but now he was thin with hallowed cheeks and sunken eyes. The sickness that befell him took his strength, leaving him sallow and weak.

  Slowly he opened his eyes. It was then I saw the man that I loved, he was reflected up at me in those soulful eyes.

  “Ankhesenamun,” he whispered, raising his hand up toward my face. His strength left him and his arm felt to his side.

  I crawled into the bed beside him and smoothed back his damp, dark hair. I wrapped my arms around his frail body.

  “My love,” I whispered into his ear. “My life.”

  “I want you close,” he murmured.

  “I’m here...I’m here.” I said as I lowered my head to his shoulder.

  He fell back asleep, his body like a fire beside me. I lay there for the longest time, stroking his fevered brow and looking at his familiar profile.

  This man was raised as my brother. I watched him play with a wooden sword in the courtyard of Akhetaten. Somehow, that small boy grew into the Prince that saved me from his father, and then became my lover, my husband, my reason for being.

  “You were my king even then,” I whispered.

  It was much later, long after the torches burned down when I at last rose. I kissed his smooth cheek, feeling that it was slightly less feverish. He slept on, looking younger than his years, but somehow older as well.

  I walked back out into the hall, searching for a servant to bring fresh water, but I nearly collided with Ay.

  “My apologies, my Queen,” he said in a whisper as he bowed. “Might I have a word?”

  “No,” I said sharply. “You are forbidden from ever speaking to me outside of the Pharaoh’s presence.”

  “Have I offended my queen in some way?”

  I whirled around, “Yes, you offended me. I know you encouraged my father to take me as a wife before my mother’s body was even cold.”

  “It was his right at the time as Pharaoh,” Ay said with an apologetic wave of his hand, but his eyes glittered in the darkness. “But my Queen, we both know he was not your father.”

  “Excuse me?”

  Ay smiled coldly, “We both know the Pharaoh Akhenaten was not your father.”

  I glared up at him, but I couldn’t argue with the truth he spoke.

  “How dare you talk to me this way!” I hissed instead, “You would do well to remember your place.”

  He bowed deeply, “I mean no disrespect. My apologies, I beg for your forgiveness.”

  I turned again to walk away, eager to return to Tutankhamun, but Ay called back to me.

  “But my Queen?”

  “What is it?” I demanded, pausing at the door, but refusing to look at him.

  “I only wish to point out that you and the Pharaoh have no heir, and should he die, you are in a most vulnerable position. Foreign invaders could see it as weakness and attack.”

  A chill ran up my spine, “That is not your concern.”

  He stepped closer, I could feel his hot breath on my shoulder.

  “It is something that concerns all of Egypt,” he said. “If you were to have a son, the Pharaoh’s legacy would go on and there would be no question of Egypt’s greatness.”

  He reached out and touched my arm, “I could give you a son.”

  I drew back, “I could have you killed for treason. Leave my sight immediately.”

  I held my breath until he rounded the corner. Once he was out of sight, I opened the door and went back into the Pharaoh’s bedchamber. I went and knelt beside his bed.

  “Please don’t let him die,” I whispered. “Tutankhamun, please, don’t leave me alone. You promised you would protect me...I beg you to keep your promise to me.”

  Chapter Twelve

  I bolted upright in the bed, panting and trembling. For a moment I wasn’t sure where I was or how I got there. My eyes darted around the room. Bit by bit, I recognized the beige walls and the large hotel bed. I looked down at Alex sleeping next to me, watching the rise and fall of his chest for a moment to convince myself it was real.

  He is alive... He’s okay...

  I knew it didn’t make sense. My dream was about Tutankhamun, not Alex, but still, it calmed me some just to see him there. I ran my hands through my hair and took a deep breath. Letting it out slowly, I told myself again it was all in my head. I lay back down and cuddled up next to him.

  “You okay?” Alex asked sleepily as he wrapped his arm around me..

  I kissed his shoulder and snuggled closer, “Yes. Just a bad dream.”

  “About Tutankhamun?”

  “Yes.”

  He rolled over and faced me. Wrapping his arms more securely around me, he buried his face in my hair.

  “It’s going to be okay,” he whispered hot in my ear. “I promise.”

  I closed my eyes and inhaled the scent of his skin, surrounding myself in the realness of him. I tried to convince myself that he was right.

  I’m okay...I’m safe...

  I fell into a dreamless sleep until morning. The sun streaming in the window woke me up. When I opened my eyes, the nightmare from the night before felt distant and harmless.

  I reached out toward Alex, but only touched the empty pillow beside me. I sat up and looked about the room, trying to convince myself there was no need to panic.

  Just then the door opened and Alex came in with a tray of breakfast foods.

  “What is this?” I asked as I tried not to look too relieved.

  “I thought after your rough night you could use a little pampering,” he said with a smile as he set the tray on the bed.

  I looked down at the juice, eggs, bacon, toast, and coffee. It was such a simple gesture, but still, it made me smile.

  “You made all of this?” I asked.

  He leaned down and kissed my forehead, “No, but I did call down for room service. Anything to make you feel better.”

  I watched as he raked his hair back into a ponytail on his way to the closet. I watched as he dressed, the delicious ripples of his muscles under the skin as he pulled on a fresh shirt. I was tempted to ask him back into the bed, but I had other plans for the day.

  “Do you really want to make me feel better?” I asked.

  He nodded, “Of course I do. What do you want?”

  “I want to see Tutankhamun’s tomb again.”

  Alex stopped and frowned, “I don’t think that’s such a good idea after what happened last time. It seemed to shake you up pretty bad. Why would you want to risk it?”

  I nodded and took a bite of the toast. Maybe it was just the memory of the dream so close, I felt like I was just on the tip of finding out everything. How could I explain that to him when it didn’t even make sense to me?

  “Are you disappointed?” Alex asked, watching my face as if trying to gauge my mood.

  “A little, but you’re probably right.”

  He looked away, standing there for the longest time with his hands on hi
s hips and his head bowed. At last he looked back up at me and sighed, “Okay, how about a compromise?”

  “What sort of compromise?”

  “I know something we can do, but it’s in Cairo.”

  “What’s in Cairo?”

  “The Egyptian Museum... With the Tutankhamun collection.”

  * * * *

  From the outside, the Egyptian Museum looked more like an American university than a museum. It was a brick building with a large white archway leading visitors inside. It looked like nothing special or impressive, but as soon as we walked through the doors we were greeted by the huge, lurking statues of Amenhotep III and Queen Tiye.

  I know you...I played at your feet...

  There was a quick flash of a younger me, playing under the stony gazes of these behemoths. I darted around them giggling as some other little girl chased me.

  Was she some advisor’s daughter or perhaps a child of a lessor wife?

  I looked back up at the stone faces and smiled if we shared a secret. It was as if I could sense that they knew me.

  I took Alex’s hand and almost pulled him down the stairs with me. I walked only a short way before I stopped, finding myself standing in the shadow of a statue of Akhenaten. I looked up at it, seeing not the stone features, but the lust filled face of the Pharaoh the night in the hall of Akhetaten.

  “There he is,” I whispered as I stared up at it. “That was Tutankhamun’s father.”

  Alex looked up at the statue and I felt a shiver overtake him. He continued to glare up at the stone face even as I turned away.

  Another exhibit drew my eye as I stepped away from Alex’s side. I circled it slowly, looking into the blank face and knowing who it was to that other me.

  There she is...Nefertiti...

  There, in a glass case, was the famous bust of Nefertiti. I circled it slowly, comparing it to the image in my dreams. If what I was seeing was real, this was my mother.

  There was no chance for sentiment. In the reflection of the Nefertiti exhibit glass I saw it, the burial mask of Tutankhamun. I turned and moved towards it. Looking at it, I saw not the mask, but the Pharaoh’s still face as the linen was wrapped about him and the diadem was placed on his head. I saw that mask being lowered, covering the face of my love forever.